MIT Defeats Coast Guard, 3-2

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. &ndash; The MIT women&rsquo;s volleyball team recorded a thrilling 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11 victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in a New England Women&rsquo;s and Men&rsquo;s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match on Tuesday night. With the win, the Engineers improved to 11-8 on the year and 3-1 in conference play while the Bears dropped to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the NEWMAC.

MIT jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening game and then extended its advantage to 20-9. Coast Guard trimmed its deficit to eight (23-15), but kills by Barden Cleeland and Cecily Joujon-Roche closed out the set for the Engineers.

In the second stanza, the Bears established a 7-3 edge before MIT knotted the contest at eight. Coast Guard capitalized on several miscues by the Engineers to increase its margin to three (12-9). MIT countered with a 10-0 run keyed by strong serving from Jenny Li. The Bears narrowed the gap to four (20-16) but that was as close as it would get as each side traded points with Katrina Ellison registering the set-winning kill.

The Cardinal and Gray recorded a quick 8-3 lead but Coast Guard responded with seven straight points powered by tough serving from Nicole Johnson. MIT evened the score at 10 before the Bears inched out to an 18-13 advantage. Following their own timeout, the Engineers tallied four straight points including back-to-back strikes from Cleeland. The spurt prompted a timeout by Coast Guard, which picked up the next two points (20-17) to gain some breathing room. MIT battled back and tied the set at 21 however a pair of miscues gave the Bears the lead for good.

The early stages of the fourth frame were closely played as a kill by Ellison tied the score at nine. Sparked by Nicole Gurr&rsquo;s serving, Coast Guard mounted an 11-2 run that resulted in a 20-11 advantage. Key blocks by Cleeland and timely hits from Li helped bring MIT within one (23-22). After a timeout by the Bears, a hitting error ended the Engineers&rsquo; late rally as Coast Guard held on to force the decisive fifth set.

Strong blocking helped propel MIT to a 6-1 lead in the final frame but the Bears responded with five consecutive points. The Engineers went on to record eight of the next 10 points, setting up match point at 14-8. Coast Guard extended the contest with three straight points and forced a timeout by MIT. Following the break, Joujon-Roche&rsquo;s kill grazed the Bears&rsquo; blocking attempt and sealed the win for the Engineers.

Ellison posted a team-high 17 digs to go along with four blocks while Li totaled seven kills, three blocks, and three aces. Cleeland racked up 16 kills and seven blocks as Alex May tallied 19 kills and 13 digs. Lindsay Hunting collected 15 digs and two aces while Cathy Melnikow notched 39 assists and three blocks. Evelyn Cordner contributed six assists to MIT&rsquo;s effort.

Both teams will return to non-conference play this weekend. MIT will participate in the Tufts University Invitational, hosting Polytechnic University and Colby-Sawyer College on Friday, Oct. 3 before making the trip to Tufts the next day. Coast Guard will host Salve Regina University and Mitchell College in a tri-match on Saturday, Oct. 4.